The A's need two good relievers, two .300+ batters, and one power hitter to compete for the title next year. I anticipate Crosby having a breakout year with the bat, and Hatterberg rebounding from a lackluster second half.

The Giants need some ****ing protection for the greatest hitter of all-time! For the love of God! The Giants scored the second most runs in the NL last year and they didn't have **** besides Barry. They obviously also need someone to slam the door at the end of games.

I am a Cubs fan, but as far as the Giants go I agree with Drew they need to shell out and get someone behind Bonds. Walking 230+ times in a year is ridiculous. Someone like Magglio Ordonez would be in their price range. It's a shame, they only have maybe 1-2 more quality years out of Bonds and they are letting them go to waste without a title.

Screw the title shot! I just want to see people pitch to his ass. What is great about baseball is the Gagne vs. Bonds type matchup at the end of a ballgame. Now that is drama, especially in the playoffs or a playoff race

yea i agree. i think what the giants could do is get a steve finley type for cf, then a barry larkin for ss, yea those guys are gettin up there in age but the production is still there, larkin hit like 290 or somethin with good d, and finley, 36 jacks and a very good defender. then all needed is a closer. we'll see what happens

Screw the title you say? You're crazy! What a big disappointment last off-season when the Giants didn't make any moves to improve their club. They were so close playing in game 7 of the World Series in 2001 (or was it 2002?) and since then haven't made any progress in my opinion. I totally agree with hobbes. Bonds is a couple of years away from retirement and the window of opportunity is closing on the Giants. When its all said and done I dont wanna hear **** like, "yeah he was the best player ever BUT he didn't win a title." Not that it'll matter because the numbers dont lie but all the Bonds haters, and there are alot of them, will always have that as material to bash him. He couldnt lead a team, blah blah blah. BS! Give him some help!!

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Three-time All-Star catcher Jason Kendall was close to being traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Oakland Athletics for a pair of pitchers, a baseball official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The Pirates would get left-handed starter Mark Redman, who went 11-12 with a 4.71 ERA, and left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes, who was 3-3 with nine save and a 5.12 ERA, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity,

Kendall, a 30-year-old California native, has a no-trade clause. His agent informed the Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield on Wednesday that he would waive the clause to play for the A's, a person close to Kendall said, also on the condition of anonymity

It's not "official" yet because they are still working out how much of Kendall's salary the Pirates are gonna pay. We needed a catcher and we got a 3-time All-Star. And it only cost us a below .500 5th starter and the suck ass Arthur Rhodes.

Wow, as a Giants fan I'm extatic about what happened this off-season. I started going to games in 1993 when I was in like 2nd grade? I've never been this excited at the beginning of the year. They got the closer that was sorely needed. Then retained every part of their bullpen except Hermenson, who although he pitched gutsy, wasn't worth the money. We then upgraded our Shortstop while retaining our starting SS to backup the middle infield in case Durham goes down. Finally we upgraded in RF with the offensive threat the team has missed since Kent left. I would have liked to keep Mohr, especially since Colorado gave him less than 1 million for one year. But that's the only flaw in the offseason and that definately ain't a killer.

What I especially like is the maliability of our defense. When Durham inevitably goes down, Alfonzo can move to second and Feliz can start at third regularly. If Snow goes down, Feliz can cover first and Alfonzo third. And if Vizquel goes down we have Cruz to sandbag. Finally in the outfield, when Bonds needs a rest Alou can swing over. If Grissom or Alou need a break, we have Tucker who could start on several teams. All around, Felipe will have cards to play with. I'm extatic, man Sabean, Colletti, and Magowan came through! FINALLY

last i heard from brian sabean as far as prospects is tony torcato has a very good chance to make the club as a ph specialist/utility player. also todd linden and jason ellison have a shot as a 5th outfielder, unless they pick up one via free agency.

Ellison's been looking good in spring training... a couple years back he was raking the ball, then got injured and it was over. Hopefully he can crack the big league roster. It'd be nice to have some speed for once (what happened to Durham?)

yeah man, durham is old now. hes more of a veteren leadoff man, he doesnt cook like he once did

"Losing is inevitably close to winning," Guber said. "They're inches apart. Drama. If you have drama, you've got a ticket to sell." "They're not real fans," Lacob said. "They don't have season tickets."

ChronicallyInclined wrote:yeah man, durham is old now. hes more of a veteren leadoff man, he doesnt cook like he once did

while durham is a vet. and he may not be as fast as once before he can still be a very good basestealer...The Giants never ran last year because they knew bonds would get the automatic pass if there was a guy on second.

With durham/vizquel at the top of the lineup and no bonds till at least may i think you'll see alot more hit and runs along with stolen base attempts..